AK DOC Today

Month: December 2015

The inmates at Minimum Facility of Palmer Correctional Center are proud to announce the competition of a major contribution to the facility’s Community Care Program. This past week, they finished 1000 wooden toys to be given to needy children, just in time for the holidays!

The inmates proposed to crochet stuffed animals to be given out to the charitable organizations and currently have completed 183 animals.

PCC inmates have funded and participated for the ninth consecutive year in a crochet program that allows the inmates to give back to the community. All of the materials used for the projects are purchased from the profits generated by the PCC Medium Club Sales Store. This year at PCC we had 200 participants in the program. The inmates create their own unique patterns which is clearly apparent in their designs. It is the mission of Palmer Correctional Center to aid the inmates incarcerated to return to the community as healthy, productive and responsible members of their communities.

On November 20th, 2015, the Palmer Correctional Center and Acting Director Marshall partnered together to purchase one ton of potatoes from the Share Campaign Silent Auction to donate to various charitable organizations within our communities. On December 3rd, the Medium Facility prisoners donated 8 turkeys and 8 hams to the Palmer Food Bank.

On December 3, 2015, the following organizations were the recipients of 50 pound bags of potatoes:

The Mat-Su Special Santa Program works to bring families in need of the Matanuska Susitna Valley the magic of Christmas for children newborn to 18 years of age. They have been serving the Mat-Su Valley since 1997 and are headquartered in Palmer. They provide toys, winter wear, toiletries, bedding and other much needed items to children in need.

The program is headed by Mari Jo Parks, CEO (Chief Elf Organizer). The program began in 1997 with a few volunteers and 90 children. In 2014, the Mat-Su Special Santa Program brought the magic of Christmas to over 3500 children from 1223 families. The Special Santa Program is a 501 (c)(3), under the umbrella of Alaska Family Services, a non-profit that provides services for women, children and their families. They are the Toys for Tots distributor for the Mat-Su Valley. Families are referred to them through programs they coordinate with including local food banks, agencies that assist families in need, schools, churches, the foster care program, Salvation Army, and other programs offering assistance at Christmas.

Mrs. Claus was on hand to accept the toys for the Mat-Su Special Santa Program. She had a great time. Mrs. Claus expressed her thanks to Goose Creek for taking some of the load off Santa and his elves this year. She is looking forward to seeing all the projects for next year as well.

The inmates worked on the toys for approximately 3 months. The workers expressed great interest in keeping this program running throughout the coming year. We have had several positive responses from the inmate workers and staff. Making toys for the Mat-Su Special Santa Program provides a positive and uplifting environment at Goose Creek and provides a special avenue for the workers to give back to our community.

The GCCC Road crew continue to clear cut Point Mackenzie Road. This ongoing cooperation between GCCC and the Mat Su Borough to help make a safer passage for moose and the commuters, has given the prisoner at Point Mackenzie Correctional Center a chance to give back to the community. A hearty thank you to the Borough for allowing us this opportunity to give back to this worthwhile cause.

Superintendent Jesse Self of Anchorage Correctional Complex is pleased to share how a small Christmas party for the females housed at ACC that was sponsored by Big Lake Independent Baptist Church in which Mrs. Mosley is a dedicated volunteer for the female church services. The Alaska Department of Corrections is fortunate to have such dedicated volunteers.

We would like to take a moment and congratulate Maintenance Specialist Brian Campbell as the November Employee of the month. Mr. Campbell has worked since 1996 at the Correctional farm and is crucial to all farming and facility maintenance that is conducted there. Along with his normal duties he routinely drops tasks to complete things such as plaque requests from the director’s office and emergent repairs on farming equipment. Mr. Campbell is vital to the operations at the farm and GCCC as a whole.

He started at PMCF and has been there ever since. He has made plaques for retirees for the department and has made the DOC shield for some of the offices. He has been to many of the other facilities completing welding project at those institutions. While doing all of this he keeps the farming equipment running and the farm building maintained. He wears many hats to complete the tasks given to him and he is aware of the budgetary requirements by researching the best prices for the material that is necessary to complete the project.

Congratulations to Brian Campbell, Employee of the Month at Goose Creek Correctional Center!

Dear DOC employees & co-workers.
It has now been 14 months since I was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. From the very beginning of the announcement about my diagnoses, I was overwhelmed by the support of all of you. People I don’t even know personally donated leave hours, sent cards & gifts, and messages of encouragement and prayers. I never imagined I would be blessed by so many people I work with in the Department of Corrections. There are so many special people to thank, but I most certainly must think my immediate supervisor Josh Mercer, his former supervisor, Billy Houser, all of my EM Unit co-workers, and all the different departments in DOC. Monica in payroll was a huge help as was Suzan with ASEA. Jim Kalak earnestly advocated for my union benefits and helped coordinate leave. I know GCCC Superintendent, John Conant was also a huge support. Honestly I just can’t remember everyone who was instrumental in helping me get through this ordeal and keep my job. If I forgot to mention your name it’s not because I don’t appreciate you. So many people donated leave for me so I could maintain my necessary medical insurance. Jan Jenski organized a blood drive in my honor and Mindy Hardin organized a bone marrow drive. Many DOC employees donated items and participated in the fundraising dinner and auction held to help with my many medical expenses. It’s just super amazing and I am grateful to each and every one of you very generous and wonderful people. Every time my doctors would let me come home for a week I would work. My job is not just a job. I love working for DOC. I am now almost seven months post-transplant and am working six hours per day. I soon will be back to 7.5. I feel stronger every day. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. My family sends their gratitude as well.

The DOC Silent Auction and Alaska Potato Bar was a huge success! DOC raised $10,446.24 towards the SHARE Campaign. Thank you to all that participated. We would like to send a special thank you to Phil Cole for all of his hard work and for reaching out to the community for the silent auction items that were so generously donated.